Bruxelles – In 2016, the employment rate of the population aged 20 to 64 in the European Union (EU) stood at 71.1%, up compared with both 2015 (70.1%) and its previous peak recorded in 2008 (70.3%). The Europe 2020 strategy target is to reach a total employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 of at least 75% in the EU by 2020. This objective has been translated into national targets in order to reflect the situation and possibilities of each Member State to contribute to the common goal.
The upward trend in employment rate is visible both for men and women. For men, their employment rate hit 76.9% in 2016, an increase compared with 2015 (75.9%) but still below its 2008 level (77.8%). As for women, their employment rate has continuously risen since 2010 to reach 65.3% in 2016. Similarly, the employment rate of persons aged 55 to 64 in the EU has grown steadily over the last years, from 38.4% in 2002 to 55.3% in 2016. The greater participation of older workers is also one of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy on employment.
A quarter of Member States already achieved their Europe 2020 employment target
Compared with 2015, the employment rate for those aged 20 to 64 increased in 2016 in all Member States except Luxembourg where it remained nearly stable. It grew most strongly in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Lithuania and Malta. Employment rates above 75% were recorded in Sweden (81.2%), Germany (78.7%), the United Kingdom (77.6%), Denmark (77.4%), the Netherlands (77.1%), the Czech Republic (76.7%), Estonia (76.6%) and Lithuania (75.2%). Among these Member States, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Lithuania and Sweden have already met or exceeded their 2020 national targets for this indicator in 2016, as have Ireland and Latvia. Malta is only 0.4 percentage points from reaching its target. On the other hand, the lowest employment rate was observed in Greece (56.2%), followed by Croatia (61.4%), Italy (61.6%) as well as Spain (63.9%).
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![La delegazione italiana dei Socialisti e Democratici durante i festeggiamenti per l'80esima Festa della Repubblica italiana, di fronte alla sede di Bruxelles del Parlamento europeo [Fonte: Eunews]](https://www.eunews.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-01-at-18.03.44-120x86.jpeg)
